Longtime Laundromat Owner on 23 Years of Service, Challenges, Community Impact

For more than two decades, Lee Ann Geurts has been a steady force in her Brooklyn Park community in Minnesota, running three laundromats that have become known not just for clean clothes, but for connection, comfort, and care. What began as a business venture for her...

Green is Good Business

Green Operations Increasingly Important to Feed Consumer Demand When Green Laundry Lounge co-owners Pulin and Krishna Dasai got into the vended laundry industry, they wanted to change a narrative: laundromats are water and energy-intensive businesses. “The...

Leveling the Playing Field

John Um wanted to make sure small business owners could get fair pricing and access to reliable suppliers without needing to have significant buying power. As a leader whose career spanned several major retail and e-commerce companies, he had seen firsthand how hard...

Staying Fierce: Haley Gould Finds Perfect Fit in Vended Laundry

Haley Gould is the Director of Partner Success for HappyNest. She manages an internal team while leading more than 100 partners across the United States building a successful pickup and delivery operation in addition to running their laundromat business. A consummate...

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Can You Accept EBT Cards at Your Store?

Jan 28, 2015

Originally posted - Dec 28, 2012 The subject of EBT, or Electronic Benefit Transfer, acceptance has been a topic of discussion that is increasing in frequency among today's self-service laundry owners. The question of whether this new form of benefits payment can be...

Is the Price Right?

Jan 28, 2015

Originally posted - March issue/2012 Accurately Calculating What Your Vend Prices Should Be Goes Well Beyond Figuring Out the Cost of a Wash and Dry It's not uncommon for newcomers to the industry to ask how to accurately calculate the cost of a wash and a dry to help...

What to Know Before You Sign on the Dotted Line

Jan 28, 2015

Originally posted - Jan 30, 2013 From our experience in brokering existing laundries and developing new ones, it is clear that now, more than ever, a building lease can determine the success or failure of a store. Over the last four years, we have had many store...

Headlines

Tide to Be Produced Through Wind Power

Procter & Gamble Announces New 'Wind Farm' for Fabric, Home Care Brands Procter & Gamble has announced plans to meet its electricity demands by using 100 percent wind power to produce its Fabric & Home Care brands, including Tide and Dawn. In partnership...

Laundrylux Upgrades Communications Capabilities

System Enhancement Designed to Better Service Customers, Distributors Across North America Laundrylux recently completed a major upgrade to its communications systems to support customer care and business growth in North America. The new system is designed to enhance...

Heating Your Stores Water

A Primer for Today's Self-Service Laundry Operator Hot water – along with total water usage (and the demand for both in the latest generation of washers) – is as much as 65 percent less than it was for most washers when I started in this business in 1979. With that...

Laying Out Your Laundromat

Tips for Planning and Designing Your New Self-Service Laundry Business for Maximum Effectiveness and Customer Convenience [The following is an excerpt from the popular laundry business book, "Secrets of Buying and Owning Laundromats." ] When planning and designing...

2015: The Year in Review

Recapping the Issues That Defined the Year – And Looking Ahead to 2016 In odd-numbered years, typically nothing that occurs in the self-service laundry industry can steal the spotlight from the Clean Show. And 2015 – with the industry's trade show and convention...

2015: The Year in Review

Recapping the Issues That Defined the Year – And Looking Ahead to 2016 In odd-numbered years, typically nothing that occurs in the self-service laundry industry can steal the spotlight from the Clean Show. And 2015 – with the industry's trade show and convention...

It’s Not About You, Tom

An Interview with CLA Member of the Year Tom Rhodes At Clean 2015 in Atlanta this past spring, second-generation, multi-store owner Tom Rhodes was presented with the Coin Laundry Association's Member of the Year award. As a member of the CLA Board of the Directors, as...

It’s Not About You, Tom

An Interview with CLA Member of the Year Tom Rhodes At Clean 2015 in Atlanta this past spring, second-generation, multi-store owner Tom Rhodes was presented with the Coin Laundry Association's Member of the Year award. As a member of the CLA Board of the Directors, as...

Earlybird Laundromat

Curtis Berger Earlybird Laundromat Teaneck, N.J. Before Getting into the Laundry Business… Curtis earned a CPA from Villanova University and worked in mortgage-backed securities in New York City until he decided to move to New Jersey and open a laundromat. Store...

Finding Your Comforter Zone

The Finer Points of Washing, Drying and Processing Comforters For the next few months, my store will be inundated with customers bringing us their comforters to wash. Comforter cleaning has grown to become a sizable segment of my operation, and it can be a hugely...

CLA: Milestones and Memories

55 Years in the Life of the Coin Laundry Association This year marks the 55th anniversary of the Coin Laundry Association. To help commemorate the occasion, we've created an industry timeline to help showcase just a few of the many industry and organizational...

Pew Research Report: Smartphone Ownership at 68% Among U.S. Adults

Today, 68 percent of U.S. adults have a smartphone, up from 35 percent in 2011, and tablet computer ownership has edged up to 45 percent among adults, according to newly released survey data from the Pew Research Center. According to the research, smartphone ownership...

This Month's Issue

The Business of Laundry: Models That Work
PlanetLaundry Podcast: AI as a Business Partner – Changing the Game for Laundromat Owners
Member Spotlight: Redefining Utility Access for the Modern Laundromat
CLEAN SHOW 2025: Schedule of CLA Events
And More…

THE LATEST ON LAUNDROMATS

Industry News

Huebsch Names Store Owner of the Quarter

Huebsch has named multi-laundry operator Michael Finkelstein its Store Owner of the Quarter. Finkelstein's newest Laundry Land location in Portsmouth, Va., delivers a level of excellence that rises above others in his market, which has been Michael's commitment since...

First CLA Connect LIVE Event Scheduled for Atlanta

The Coin Laundry Association will hold its first CLA Connect LIVE event on September 25 at the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center in Atlanta. The meeting - scheduled for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. - will feature a presentation by CLA President and CEO Brian Wallace, who...

LaundryCares Adds Industry Veteran

The LaundryCares Foundation recently announced that laundry industry veteran Dan Naumann has agreed to join the organization as its executive vice president. His responsibilities extend to the day-to-day operation of the foundation, as well as working to scale up...

‘Ready,’ Set… Read!

LaundryCares Partnership with ReadyNation Leads to Growing Number of Laundromat Reading Programs Across the Country The recent launching of a reading corner at Foxy Lady Laundry in Miami is a prime example of the strong and growing partnership between the Coin Laundry...

CLEC Names General Manager of Houston Office

Commercial and Coin Laundry Equipment Co. has hired industry veteran Mike Hand to be the general manager of the company's CLEC-West facility, located in Houston. "Mike's experience in the laundry industry and track record of success in leading projects makes him the...